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Fees

Ratio uses a transparent, volume-tiered fee model. There are no hidden markups, no post-trade adjustments, and no opaque spread loading that disguises the true cost of a transaction. Every fee component is visible in the quote response before you execute.

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Fee components

Every swap involves two cost components: Platform fee — A per-transaction fee with two parts, both charged in the input token:
  • A variable component: a percentage (in bps) of the transaction amount, set by volume tier.
  • A fixed component: a small flat amount set per destination currency and tier, converted into the input token at the quote’s oracle prices.
The platform fee covers protocol operating costs and contributes to LP rewards. Spread — The difference between the oracle mid-market rate and the rate you receive, charged in the output token. Ratio’s spread is built dynamically from six components: base, volatility, liquidity, off-market hours, risk-state surcharge, and inventory skew (which can be negative). The spread compensates LPs for providing instant execution and covers the cost of maintaining pool health. See Oracle Pricing for a full breakdown of each component. Together, the platform fee and spread represent the total cost of your transaction. Both are visible in every quote response — you see the full cost before you decide to execute.

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Volume tiers

Ratio’s platform fee is volume-tiered: larger transactions pay a lower variable fee rate. This mirrors institutional FX pricing, where volume earns better execution. Each corridor has its own tier schedule, based on the USD value of the input amount:
Exact tier boundaries, variable fee rates and fixed fees vary by corridor. Read them from fee_tiers and fixed_fee_by_to_token in GET /v1/corridors.

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Fee visibility in quote responses

Every quote response (indicative and firm) includes a fee_breakdown object that details every cost component:
You can display this breakdown to your end users or use it for internal reconciliation and reporting. The rate shown in the firm quote is the rate you receive at execution — no post-trade adjustments. See the Quotes API for every field.
Use partner_pricing.charged.total_bps to compare execution cost across corridors and transaction sizes. It is the all-in cost (platform fee plus spread) in basis points of the input amount; partner_pricing.charged.total_usd is the same cost in USD.

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Partner-specific pricing

In addition to the standard tier schedule, Ratio supports partner-specific pricing for strategic partners — such as anchor liquidity providers or high-volume remittance operators. It is set per API credential in one of two modes:
  • STANDARD with a discount — the standard schedule with a discount (discount_ppm) applied to the fixed fee, variable fee and spread.
  • FIXED_INPUT_RATE — a single fee rate on the input amount, selected by size level for each corridor. Fixed fee and spread are 0; in elevated risk states a risk surcharge may be added. The quote’s tier shows the level as L1, L2, …
The active mode is always visible in fee_breakdown.partner_pricing. For discounted STANDARD pricing it also shows the undiscounted cost and your savings. Partner-specific pricing is configured during the onboarding process. Contact your account manager to discuss whether your volume qualifies.

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Revenue distribution

Swap revenue is distributed to three recipients:
  • Protocol treasury — Funds ongoing development, infrastructure, and operations.
  • Pool LPs — Rewards liquidity providers who funded the specific pools used in your swap.
  • Global fee pool — Distributed to all LPs across the platform, aligning incentives for broad, deep liquidity.
This distribution model aligns the interests of the protocol, liquidity providers, and partners — everyone benefits when the platform is well-used.